One thing about superheroes is that they would be heroic people even without their powers. For example, Superman would still fight for truth and justice by being Clark Kent, award-winning investigative reporter. Powers don’t make you a hero — caring about people makes you heroic. That’s a good thing for Barry since Barry loses his speed while dealing with a villain.

There’s a philosophical divide that crops up in the episode: caring for humanity as a whole versus caring for individuals. While they are not mutually exclusive, it’s an interesting question. Is one more important than the other? Is it better to care about everyone but no individuals or a few individuals?

Flash Facts

Wells asks Barry to go faster because it will help science progress. Wells cares about the future of humanity, which is a good reason to be a research scientist. The best, really. Wells tells Barry that his attachment to people is slowing him down. Barry isn’t sure what to make of that.

An electricity-eating metahuman is at a power station, which, sure. If you had to eat electricity, you’d probably go to one, too. Barry tries to deal with him but gets zapped and then has his power sucked out of him. He has to take Uber back to STAR Labs (and tells the driver he’s coming from a cosplay party, ha!). No one is sure how to get his power back.

The showdown at the power station prompts Blackout to come to STAR Labs to find Wells and while there he causes a blackout across Central City. The blackout is just enough of a distraction for Clock King to get free, shoot a couple of police officers, and take some hostages, including Joe and Iris. There’s a lot of back and forth negotiating with SWAT. Eddie sneaks in and shoots the Clock King only to find he was wearing a protective vest and ends up getting shot, too. Eventually, the Clock King takes Iris up to the roof but not before she takes a gun off of Eddie. On their way to the roof, she shoots him and saves the day. Way to go, Iris!

Back at the particle accelerator, Wells sets Tony Woodward, aka Girder, free so he can kill Blackout. That does not work out and Tony gets fried and dies. Barry finds him and finds out Wells let him out and gets mad about it. But there’s not really time since they need to flee from Blackout, who is angry with Wells since the whole “have to feed on electricity” thing is his fault and two of Blackout’s friends died trying to give him CPR after the particle accelerator exploded and gave him his powers.

Eventually, Barry gets his powers back thanks to Caitlin and Wells. He outraces the electricity that Blackout shoots at Wells and moves the professor to safety. Barry gets zapped by Blackout, who starts feeding on Barry’s power, but it’s too much for him this time and it kills him. Caitlin explains that he essentially choked on Barry.

Speaking of Caitlin, there’s definitely a growing chemistry between Barry and Caitlin — much more so than between Barry and Iris, incidentally.

In the end, Wells realizes that Barry’s attachment to the people he loves is what drives him. Given that the thing that ultimately drives Barry is his mother’s murder, well, it’s another sign pointing to the idea that Wells might have something to do with the murder.

Epilogue: Wells draws some of Blackout’s blood. He’s interested in how Blackout was able to steal the Flash’s powers.

Easter Eggs

William Tuck/The Clock King — This is the first villain to cross-over between Arrow and The Flash. A good choice, too. He’s just the right sort of villain that can pose a threat to police but can be countered by Iris and a gun.

Barry being late — Barry shows up late to a few places early in the episode. This is a constant thing with Barry in the comics. Despite being the world’s fastest man, he’s always late.

Ralph Dibney — Dr. Wells mentions the names of a number of people who died in the particle accelerator accident, including Dibney. Dibney was not only a great detective in the comics but also Elastic Man (different than Plastic Man). I wonder if we’ll be seeing Elastic Man in the future.

Intake 52 — a sign on a wall in the lab reads “Intake 52.” 52 is always a reference to the fact that in comics there are 52 universes in the mulitverse.

What did you find to be awesome and super in this episode? Did you think anything was bogus? Give us your Two Cents below!